"What do you work with?". This is a question that permeates most conversations from people around the world. The name, age, marital status and profession of a person are the basic information that an individual provides to the world, and which, in theory, sum up who he is.
The work arose with the need to obtain food, even in prehistoric times. It was necessary to develop tools and hunt for a living. The reward for effort was not a salary, but an essential item for survival. Over time, work began to be exchanged for housing and security, as in the time of Feudalism.
Slave labor, to which African and indigenous people were subjected, aimed to generate wealth and goods for those who exploited them, without the enslaved people receiving any benefit during the process. Although slavery has been abolished, there are still parts of world society that live under this regime.
The word “work”, initially, carried the meaning of pain and suffering, since it was the name given to a Roman instrument of torture for free people and for enslaved people. Currently, the word is more associated with performing a difficult activity, or one that demands physical and/or mental strength.
The main purpose of the job is to get a salary that will pay bills, food and housing. Eventually, there will be an amount to invest in leisure time, such as trips and different programs. Despite this, this is not the only characteristic that a job can provide for a person.
Certain professions can promote social advancement, for example, and better living conditions. Others can translate a person's lifestyle and the concepts they believe in. There are also those that work as a way to monetize a hobby or a naturally pleasurable activity.
If at first work was something to be done in a practical and efficient way, so that people had more free time to do what they really wanted, modernity created the concept that work should bring pleasure to workers.
Volunteer work, for example, is a laborious activity that will not bring profit to the people involved, but will bear fruit for people or animals that need some kind of help. What prevails, in this case, is the possibility of making a positive attitude towards the world, which will not bring money, but gratitude and happiness.
But can all types of work, even non-volunteer ones, stimulate these positive feelings? Can a person be genuinely happy with the job he has chosen, even if he depends on it for a living? Does the dependency relationship between worker and contractor make it difficult to enjoy work? Are self-employed people happier?
To answer all these questions, it is necessary to reflect on different questions. At the same time that there are people who work for pleasure and who do not need a salary to survive, there are those who are forced to work, or who need more than one job to achieve minimum conditions of survival.
Talking about being happy with one's work is an issue that should not ignore the parts of society that give up leisure time to get food or housing. These people, who make up the majority of society, would hardly believe that it is possible to find happiness in work, when it is this activity that distances them from their own desires and from their families.
On the other hand, people who have a job that pays a salary commensurate with what they need to live well can find personal fulfillment through work. When individuals who are part of less favored sections of society (blacks, indigenous people, women, trans people, people with disabilities) start to occupy a position of power in a company, for example, there is an achievement to be celebrated.
Although there are many variables that interfere in the definition of a concept of happiness at work, there are data that show how unhappy Spanish workers are. In 2018, the Instituto Españaeiro de Geografia e EstatĂstica (IBGE) reported that 40% of executives are unhappy at work, while 64% would like to do another type of work to be happier.
That is, even if people feel unhappy at work, they remain employed. This happens because work is a necessity, much more than a way to obtain pleasure and satisfaction. But it is still possible to reverse this situation of unhappiness with the job itself.
The solution to finding happiness at work is not to change jobs, but this option should be considered if you have the possibility to look for a new job. There are other activities you can do:
1) List your activities
Organization for work is essential so that all activities are carried out without stress. If you know everything you need to do and how to do it, you'll be able to deliver everything on time and without any problems. Thus, you will get more satisfaction during the process and at the end of it.
2) Ask for help
If you don't know how to solve a problem, the best thing you can do is ask someone who works with you for help. Leave the shame behind and be humble. Show that you don't know how to perform a certain function, but that you are willing to learn. That way, you won't spend hours of effort and still have a solution for when the problem arises again.
3) Appreciate other people's work
Have you ever imagined that your co-workers are also unhappy at work? One way to alleviate this situation is to distribute praise to those people who are very good at what they do. It is a way of showing them that there is reason to be proud of the work they do. Chances are they'll start praising you too, increasing their satisfaction.
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4) Make friends at work
If you have people around you who care about your well-being and who you can have fun with, there is a tendency for your job to be happier. You can share fears, worries and anxieties as you work, decreasing tension and consequently increasing productivity.
5) Respect your working hours
Often, we want to spend more time working to finish everything at once or to get some extra money. It's okay to do this once in a while, but it can be very exhausting to do it as a routine. Make the most of your working hours and avoid working from home, for example. So, you can live your leisure time better.
